Born in
Červený Kostelec, Kalabis was interested in music from a young age, but due to the
Nazi occupation of Prague during the
Second World War, he was unable to study music in Prague. After the end of the war, Kalabis studied at the
Prague Conservatory and at the Academy of Music and
Charles University. In 1952, Kalabis married
Zuzana Růžičková, who became a famous harpsichord player. They both refused to join the
Communist Party, which impeded the beginning of their music careers. Eventually, Kalabis got work in the children's music section at
Czechoslovak Radio, where he established the Concertino Praga competition for young musicians. In 1957,
Manuel Rosenthal performed Kalabis' Concert for violoncello op. 8 at the
Orchestre de Paris at the
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, which brought Kalabis new opportunities. His works were commissioned, for example, by the
Czech Philharmonic, the
Dresden Philharmonic, Camerata Zurich,
Josef Suk, The Suk Trio,
János Starker,
Maurice André, the
Prague Spring Festival and others. His composition
Sinfonia pacis is one of the world's most-played Czech contemporary music compositions. Although most of Kalabis's works are symphonic, concertante or chamber compositions, he composed several vocal works such as the cantata
Canticum Canticorum, the chamber cantata
Vojna (The War), song cycles and choruses. For stage, he wrote the
Fable for chamber orchestra and the two-part ballet score
Dva světy (Two Worlds), inspired by
Lewis Carroll's book ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. The video recording of this ballet was given the "
Parents' Choice Award" of 1993 in the United States. In 1967, he received the Prize of the Czechoslovak Music Critics and in 1969 he was awarded the State Prize. According to Aleš Březina, a close friend of Kalabis', "his beginnings in the fifties and in the early sixties were deeply influenced by people like Stravinsky and Hindemith, and Honegger and Bartók – and Martinů of course." Eventually, Kalabis became President of the
Bohuslav Martinů Foundation. Here he established the Bohuslav Martinů Institute for Studies and Information, launched the Martinů Festival and competition, and created a dynamic base from which
Bohuslav Martinů's work has become far better known. ==Death==